Groww Q3 profit falls 28% as user base tops 20 million

Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent of Indian stock broking platform Groww, reported a 27.8% year-on-year drop in consolidated net profit to 546.9 crore rupee (US$60.62 million) for Q3 FY26.

Revenue from operations rose 24.8% year-on-year to 1,216.1 crore rupee (US$134.81 million) in the same period.

Groww’s adjusted EBITDA reached 741.8 crore rupee (US$82.23 million), up from 598.1 crore rupee (US$66.30 million) a year earlier.

The company said its total transacting user base rose 25% year-on-year, surpassing 20 million users.

The company said its stock market share grew from 21.6% to 28.8%, and equity derivatives market share from 12.2% to 18.1% compared to Q3 FY25.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Why profit fell despite strong revenue growth

A ~28% year-on-year profit drop came from a one-time accounting move. Groww accrued Rs 318.5 crore under a long-term management incentive (a long-term incentive plan for senior employees) in H1 FY25, then reversed Rs 424.7 crore in Q3 FY25 (the third quarter of fiscal 2025), which created a one-off gain in the base quarter 1. This reversal followed its redomiciling exercise (a shift of the company’s legal home to a different jurisdiction), when incentives were surrendered and recognized as one-time gains 2.
That Rs 315 crore post-tax one-time item in Q3 FY25 inflated the prior year’s base 2. Excluding it, operating profit after tax rose 24% year-on-year 2, in line with the 24% jump in adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) to Rs 742 crore 2.
Total revenue climbed 26% year-on-year and 18% sequentially (quarter-on-quarter) 2. Cash equities share rose from 21.6% to 28.8% and derivatives from 12.2% to 18.1% 2. New lines like commodity trading and loans against securities (credit extended using customers’ shares or mutual fund units as collateral) drove 49% of total income growth 2.

Rising derivatives activity creates compliance and risk-management openings

Retail derivatives (contracts such as futures and options whose value is derived from stocks or indices) average daily turnover rose 45% year-on-year to Rs 11,483 crore 2. Equity derivatives share climbed from 12.2% to 18.1% 2.
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) tightened equity and index derivatives rules in 2025 and is refining the framework to curb excessive speculation 3. The changes will reshape product structures and compliance for brokers 3.
Fintech vendors and risk-analytics providers can build tools for broker risk controls. Features can track client exposures and deliver investor education. Systems can automate surveillance and position-limit monitoring (limits on the size of positions a client can take) in line with SEBI’s evolving risk-management framework.